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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25594249">love and other divine interventions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesxrgent/pseuds/bluesxrgent'>bluesxrgent</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tumblr prompts [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (France)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Fluff, For the most part, Friends to Lovers, M/M, eliott is enamoured, issa pjo au, lucas is confused, we all know the drill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:28:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,151</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25594249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesxrgent/pseuds/bluesxrgent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>tumblr prompt: I had an idea for a fic. That Elliott saves lucas from a monster. Elliott is a demigod and tells lucas he is too and has to go to camp halfblood (percy Jackson au)</p><p>aka the (mini) pjo au that no one asked for</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>tumblr prompts [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1394650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>157</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. part i. identity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was meant to be a lil fluffy 1k fic, but now there's three parts to it because i accidentally came up with a plot :) </p><p>hope u enjoy, all three parts are already written, so i'll be updating pretty quickly!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Look, Lucas didn’t want to be a half-blood. What the hell was that even supposed to mean? It sounded like a disease, the more he thought about it. Not that he thought about it often, he really tried not to, because most of all he didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span> what it meant. Hadn’t killed him yet, had it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas had first been told that he was a half-blood by his mother when he was twelve. She said she was worried for his safety, and that she might have to send him to summer camp in America. He didn’t know what any of that meant, but he also knew that his mother wasn’t well sometimes, so he never thought too much about what she’d said and whether or not it meant more than he took it as.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few years later, his mother had been put into an institution to help with her mental health, and Lucas had been sent from Paris to the states to live with an aunt and uncle he hardly knew. That was the second time someone called him a half-blood. He’d been minding his own business, walking home from school, and some kid who looked both older and younger than he was at the time had gasped, saying that Lucas was a half-blood and had to come with him if he wanted to be safe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas had learned about stranger danger, though, so instead he ran away and told his aunt and uncle what happened. Without any room for argument, his aunt and uncle packed up and moved halfway across the country. It was a bit of an excessive response, but Lucas was fourteen, he didn’t really have any say in the matter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something similar had happened again when he was sixteen, then seventeen, and each time his aunt and uncle packed up and moved at even the slightest hint of trouble. He knew that they were just worried about him, they’d lost their daughter, his cousin, back when she was about twelve years old, and they never found out what happened to her. Or so they told Lucas, when he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He asked them what a half-blood was once, and they’d both told him to never say that word again. So, he hadn’t. He did write a letter to his mother, though, asking if she could explain what she’d meant. Everyone just thought she was crazy, but Lucas had never thought so. If she’d thought it was important for Lucas to know, it must have been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Lucas was eighteen, he went to university in New York. His aunt and uncle hadn’t wanted him to, but they wouldn’t let him go back to Paris, so this was the option they’d reluctantly agreed to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Strange things had always seemed to follow him wherever he went, but those occurrences happened far more often once he was in New York. He chalked it up to the weirdness of the city itself. Like this: the man on the street who’d told him he smelled like death— which was more rude than strange, actually— or the time that he could have sworn some sort of winged demon had been following him as he walked to class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Generally, he chalked his experiences up to a lack of sleep, because the life of a college student was quite the busy one. Even if it hadn’t been, he probably wouldn’t have slept anyways. All his life he’d been plagued by dreams so haunting and wild that he’d felt that they were real, regardless of the fact that he knew that couldn’t have been the case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was after a night tossing and turning in bed, visions of a pale skinned man on a throne of bones trying desperately to tell him something, that Lucas decided he needed to get some fresh air.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas loved the city, he really did. Of all the places he’d lived in his life, New York was a close second to Paris. He didn’t let himself think of Paris too often, though, lest he be swept up in thoughts of his mother and how much he missed her. It was hard to keep in contact with all the moving, but he called the home that she was in every now and again to make sure she was alright. She never responded to the questions he’d written to her, but he’d more or less put all of that out of his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It became clear to Lucas while he was walking through the city that someone was following him. Every time he looked back, he could have sworn he saw someone dart out of sight. So, he picked up his pace. If it came down to it, he’d throw some punches, sure, but he wasn’t the best fighter there ever was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept walking, no direction in mind, and started to think that maybe he’d been overreacting, or maybe the sleep deprivation had gotten him at last. He walked so long that he made it somewhere there weren’t many people around, and even though he turned over his shoulder once more, whoever was following him seemed to have gotten bored and left him be. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, and paused to check his phone, blinking in surprise when he realized he’d been walking for nearly two hours. He had a tendency to get lost in his own head like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas took a deep breath, started to turn around to walk back where he’d come from, and saw a light flash at the corner of his eye, something a bright and beautiful shade of bronze. Before he had time to react, he was pinned up against the side of an alleyway with a knife to his throat and a hand over his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time Lucas was able to assess the situation and look at his assailant’s face, he groaned internally to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, fuck, he’s hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The assailant in question didn’t look to be all that much older than Lucas himself, his skin was pale and golden, dotted with moles like constellations. He was wearing a bright orange shirt, which Lucas didn’t know how he hadn’t seen before, and had a leather necklace with a bunch of clay beads on it, each with a different design. Six if, Lucas was counting properly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing Lucas looked at were his attacker’s eyes. A clear, bluish grayish color so intense, it made Lucas a little weak in the knees. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get a hold of yourself Lallemant, this guy is literally trying to kill you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas opened his mouth under the guy’s hold and in return the guy pressed his hand in even tighter. His luminescent eyes raked Lucas’ face up and down a moment until his attention was caught by something else, off to Lucas’ left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay here,” the boy said, loosening his grip on Lucas’ mouth, “And stay quiet, if you want to survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Lucas may not have been trained in combat, but he did know a few moves, one of which he employed the second it looked like this guy’s guard was down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OW! What the fuck?” the guy said in a strained voice as he fell to his knees. “Did you just knee me in the balls?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas didn’t spare the breath on answering, he just ran to the opposite end of the alley as fast as he could. He was almost away when he heard another voice join the fray. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” said a girl’s voice, “I think you should go back to where Eliott told you to stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Lucas felt his legs moving of their own accord. He agreed with this girl, he should listen to everything she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy— Eliott— lifted his head to glare at the girl. “Lola, stop that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In his haze, Lucas could barely hear her mumble something about never being allowed to have any fun before he suddenly felt like he’d been dunked in a bucket of ice cold water. He looked around, wondering how he’d gotten back to where he’d run from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you— wha—” he stammered, trying to regain sense of himself, when Eliott sighed and stood up, grimacing a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll explain everything,” Eliott promised, “We’re here to help you, not hurt you, you just have to please, for the love of the gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay where you are and shut up</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the love of the gods? Were these people in some sort of cult?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas was nothing if not stubborn. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. “What makes you think I’ll do what you say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott threw an exasperated glance at Lola, who simply raised her eyebrows back as if to say, </span>
  <em>
    <span>should have listened to me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Eliott sighed and came back to stand in front of Lucas, holding the knife he’d very recently pressed against Lucas' neck out to Lucas to grab. “Does this make you feel better?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could stab you,” Lucas said, taking it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott flashed a quick grin, holding out a hand as Lola tossed him a bow and arrows. “You won’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas narrowed his eyes. “Oh yeah? And what makes you say th— AHHH!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas liked horror movies, he prided himself on being hard to scare. He’d laughed nearly the entire time he’d seen the most recent </span>
  <em>
    <span>It</span>
  </em>
  <span> movie, and he’d chalked up all the strange things that had happened in his life to fever dreams at best, tragically large amounts of bad luck at worst. Maybe he hadn’t been scared because he either knew it wasn’t real, or refused to believe it was real. This, though, this massive beast looking moments away from eating him alive, this was real.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods dammit,” Lola murmured under her breath, pulling a sword from nowhere. Lucas glanced down at the knife in his hands. Eliott and Lola weren’t paying any attention to him anymore, he could make a run for it, but his fear was that this </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> in front of him would kill him if he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me? What the hell is that thing?” Lucas shouted, drawing the beast’s head in his direction. Fuck. Maybe drawing attention to himself by shouting wasn’t the best move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither Lola nor Eliott answered him, assuming fighting stances. Lucas tried to emulate what they were doing, but his knees felt too weak and his head felt too dizzy. He hoped to whoever might listen that this was all just a very convoluted nightmare. He pressed the blade into his hand, just to see if it hurt, wishing that it wouldn’t. It did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence where Lucas could have heard a pin drop, but then the thing made a horrifying, guttural sort of sound, and lunged. Lola charged forward, swinging her sword with the precision of a seasoned professional, but the thing was fast. It evaded her attacks, reaching out to slash her with its long claws. Lucas didn’t think, just knew that even if he didn’t trust these people, they didn’t deserve to die. He threw the knife Eliott had given him with all his might, and let out a startled breath as it embedded itself right between the thing’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott, who’d had an arrow ready to fly, lowered his weapon and stared at Lucas with a dumbfounded expression as the thing crumbled to dust, leaving only the bronze knife in its wake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you do that?” Eliott asked, searching Lucas’ face up and down. From his other side, Lola was looking at Lucas apprehensively. Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Eliott’s expression went from shocked to worried, and that was the last thing Lucas saw before he passed out cold.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lucas shot up in bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Of course it was all a dream; sure it had felt realistic, but why would he be in bed if everything that had just happened in his mind happened in real life? Then again… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas surveyed his surroundings and groaned, before flopping back onto what he now realized was not his bed. Great, he’d been kidnapped. By a boy with eyes like the center of a storm and a girl younger than he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lucas?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned his head to the voice in the doorway, not knowing what to expect. To his displeasure, it was the kidnapper himself. Eliott, was it? He didn’t look like a kidnapper, in that same offensively bright orange t-shirt and distressed jeans, light streaks in his wild hair from too much time out in the sun. Camp Half-Blood, read his t-shirt, and upon realizing this, Lucas felt like he was going to be sick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, woah, woah,” Eliott said as he raced to Lucas’ bed, shoving a glass of an indeterminate liquid into his hands. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas was definitely not going to drink it, obviously. Eliott noticed this, rolled his eyes, and took a small sip from the side of the cup. “There, will you drink it now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did you take me, and how do you know who I am?” Lucas asked instead. He could only hope that Eliott was kind of stupid, so he’d be able to outsmart him and escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not telling you anything until you drink that,” Eliott said stubbornly, sitting on the edge of Lucas’ bed. The more Lucas looked at the room, the more it looked like some sort of infirmary, which made even less sense. Maybe Eliott had some weird doctor-patient kink or something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas looked at the drink in his hands, then back up at Eliott, who was smiling bright as the sun. He rolled his eyes and took a sip, figuring that if the drink </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> safe, he’d do what Eliott said to get more information and get the hell out of there. The moment the liquid hit his tongue, he flinched back in surprise. It tasted just like his favorite meal that his mother made him when he was little. How was that even possible? Forgetting all about Eliott, he gulped down most of the rest of the drink until he started feeling a bit hot and Eliott grabbed the glass from his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah there, don’t want you burning up on us, not when it’s taken so much work for us to get you here at all,” Eliott said with a smile, which Lucas decided is something a psychopath would do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did feel better though, now that the heat had subsided. A lot better actually, better than he’d felt in a long time. He felt healthy and well rested, which was especially great if he needed to take Eliott out in order to escape. First, though, he needed answers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where am I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Long Island,” Eliott supplied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas glowered at him. “Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> am I? Why did you kidnap me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott coughed in surprise, eyebrows shooting up and then furrowing deeply. “Kidnap? Lucas, I didn’t kidnap you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why were you following me, then? How do you know my name?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott sighed and gazed at Lucas for a second that stretched to a minute. “I know your name because I saw it on your student ID. Your wallet was in your pocket. Don’t give me that look, I didn’t steal anything, you can have your two dollars and campus card back when you’re ready to head out into camp, not that you’ll be needing either of those things anytime soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aha, Lucas had caught him. “Because you kidnapped me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span> I did not—” Eliott broke off, shaking his head exasperatedly. “You’re difficult, you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas shrugged. “So I’ve been told.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t be here a long time because I’ve kidnapped you, you’ll be here a long time because it’s one of the only places in the world safe for people like you. Like us,” Eliott continued, looking like he was gauging each of Lucas’ reactions. “No offense, but I’m truly and honestly surprised that you’re not already dead. Unless you’re secretly ten years old or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And who, pray tell, are we?” Lucas asked sarcastically, ignoring the latter half of what Eliott had said. The look in Eliott’s eyes went deadly serious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Half-bloods.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that’s, like, a slur of some sort..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The more jovial light came back into Eliott’s eyes. “I’m sorry, what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My aunt and uncle told me never to say that, because people used to call me that sometimes when I was younger. My mom did too, but when she said it, it didn’t sound like a bad thing…” Lucas trailed off, not even realizing it, consumed in thoughts of his mother, as well as his aunt and uncle, who would think him dead. Or lost, just like their daughter. He only came back to himself when he heard Eliott swear under his breath. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott went red. “Sorry, it’s just… we had a bet going, about who your parent was. If your mom is mortal, that means I lose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell me what the hell you’re talking about, or am I going to have to kick you in the balls and make a run for it again?” Lucas asked dejectedly. Eliott laughed like he was joking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized, “You mean… you truly don’t know, then? What you are? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who </span>
  </em>
  <span>you are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas stared at him blankly, shrugging. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott continued, “You’re a half-blood— which isn’t a slur, by the way— which means you’re half human, half something else, something that might not make much sense to you right now, or you might not want to believe, but I promise you that it’s true.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok.” What else was Lucas going to say? He was back to wondering if Eliott was a part of some weird cult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re half human, half god. Your father, whoever he is, is one of the gods of Ancient Greece. Or Rome, I suppose, but I have a feeling if you ended up here, you’re more on the Greek side of things,” Eliott concluded hesitantly, like he was waiting for Lucas to laugh in his face. Lucas sort of wanted to, but then again, if this was some weird cult thing, maybe it would be best to play along until he went under the radar and could escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, instead of laughing or asking a million more questions like he wanted to, Lucas said, “Oh, is that all?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott blinked at him. “Is that a— you mean you believe me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Lucas asked. Yeah, this was definitely a cult thing. “Who’s my dad, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t know, we don’t know,” Eliott said apologetically. There was a look in his eyes that made Lucas doubt, for a moment, that this was all some big cosmic joke the universe was playing on him, that there might have been some truth to what Eliott was saying. But that was ridiculous, he couldn’t let them get to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of dwelling on it, Lucas tried to divert the conversation, “Hence the bet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The corner of Eliott’s mouth quirked up and he averted his eyes, giving a shrug of acknowledgement. “Hence the bet,” he agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them stared at each other a beat longer, then Eliott hopped up and held out his hand. “Let’s give you a camp tour then, hm? Hopefully you’ll be claimed by tonight, but Cabin Eleven always welcomes unclaimed campers, even if we haven’t had one in a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, ok,” Lucas said, getting out of bed without taking Eliott’s hand. In all honesty, it was more for his own sake than anything. Cultist or not, Eliott was very, very attractive, and Lucas was very, very gay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott walked with a little bit of a bounce in his step, like he couldn’t help it, and even though it sort of made Lucas want to roll his eyes, another part of him was endeared. Eliott picked up a bow and quiver full of arrows by the door and strung them over his back. Lucas had no idea what use that would be, but he was wary to find out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Outside of the infirmary was nothing like what Lucas expected. Eliott grinned at Lucas’ face over his shoulder and said, “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was beautiful, that was the only word for it. There was a four story mansion in front of what looked to be some sort of dining pavilion, and on the opposite side there were massive strawberry fields, an archery range, and was that a rock climbing wall with lava pouring down it? It was hard to process everything he was seeing, and even harder when he looked a bit further and saw what Eliott must have meant by ‘cabins’. Cabin was an understatement, surely. There were many massive buildings, each decorated so wildly Lucas couldn’t even imagine the purpose of them. If this was a cult, at least the leaders seemed to treat the members well, everyone looked like they were having the time of their life, even the people sword fighting to the death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas looked back at the mansion on what seemed to be some sort of front lawn, and suddenly felt like he was about to faint again. “That man has a horse body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott followed his gaze, laughed lightly. “Yeah, that’s Chiron, he’s a centaur.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Lucas didn’t respond, Eliott stopped him, imploring him with his intoxicating eyes. “Wait a second. You didn’t really believe me did you, you little shit?” he laughed, again, like it was funny. “Why would I lie about your father being a Greek god? Mine is too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Lucas said numbly. There had to be some other explanation, maybe he was on drugs. He started to feel a bit feverish and breathless as he took in his surroundings again. A man with the legs of a goat trotted past him and his vision dotted. Great, a panic attack was exactly what he needed right now. He didn’t even realize he’d fallen to his knees until Eliott knelt beside him, looking concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Lucas, breathe for me, can you do that?” Eliott asked. Lucas tried to answer, but he couldn’t, tried to breathe, but he couldn’t. Eliott’s face in front of him was a bit blurry now, and Lucas felt numb all over, like he was outside of his body. Then, suddenly, his vision cleared, his breathing regulated, and he felt like himself again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What—” he began, looking at Eliott, who looked guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Eliott said, helping Lucas to his feet. “My godly parent? Apollo, the god of music, prophecy, the sun,” he paused, biting his lip. “Medicine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re being one hundred percent serious?” Lucas asked. “You’re not part of a cult trying to brainwash me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott nodded. “I swear it on the River Styx.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas didn’t know what that meant, but thunder boomed in the distance, so it sounded serious. His resolve crumbled, and he had no choice but to believe this crazy story he’d been told. In some ways, it made some of the weird things in his life seem not so weird after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” he conceded, “I believe you. For real this time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott smiled, but it was shallow, and Lucas thought about what he’d just said about his own father. “So you… you stopped my panic attack, then? With godly superpowers, or whatever?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s face went a bit dark, “I wouldn’t call it that, necessarily. I… I differ from most of my siblings in this way. Usually Apollo’s children are more inclined towards medicine, that much is true, but we don’t necessarily have healing powers of our own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you do,” Lucas inferred, and Eliott nodded grimly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It helps out a lot in battle, or with physical ailments, but I—” he faltered, and looked out at the water. “I hate using it this way, for mental ailments. Treating it like it's something that needs to be fixed— which I can’t do by the way. I can get rid of your panic attack, but not your anxiety, if that makes sense. The same way I could heal a broken leg, but not make sure that leg is never broken again. It seems like a cruel joke, sometimes, considering…” he trailed off, turning red, like he’d said something he shouldn’t have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas waited for him to continue, but when he did, he didn’t pick up his last train of thought. “Point is, we all have our things, from our parents, no matter how big or small they might be. Maybe finding out what yours is will lead us to find out who your dad is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe my dad’s also Apollo,” Lucas wondered aloud, and Eliott let out an oddly strangled noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s hope not,” he said, and before Lucas could ask why, he took off across the green towards the cabins. “Come on, let’s get you acquainted with some of the campers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Lucas, well, he had no choice but to follow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every camper they passed seemed to be a little bit enamoured with Eliott, smiling, waving, and greeting him with blushes and laughter. Once Lucas caught up to Eliott, he asked, “Why are they doing that? Aren’t we all technically related, or whatever?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott furrowed his brows. “Doing what?” he asked, just as a camper on the volleyball court blew him a kiss. Lucas raised his eyebrows and watched as Eliott’s face turned bright red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh that’s not— we’re not— The godly side of the family doesn’t count,” he explained, “There’s no DNA there, so you’re not really related in any real way to anyone, aside from your siblings. Like, a child of Poseidon and a child of Athena could date with no problem, but two children of Athena? That’s weird.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lucas said, taking it all in. It seemed he had quite a bit to learn. “Who are you dating, then?” he asked, wishing he hadn’t the minute he said it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his surprise, Eliott just looked over at him with one eyebrow raised and a small smirk. “No one,” he said, coming to a stop in front of what looked like a Barbie house. “Yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a girl with blonde hair and big green eyes bounding down the stairs in their direction. Instead of running to Eliott, like he expected, she ran right towards Lucas, smiling at him widely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You must be Lucas!” she said excitedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” Lucas said intelligently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Daphné,” Eliott said, “Daughter of Aphrodite.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aphrodite. Right. Which one was she again? The one naked in a seashell? Thankfully, Daphné filled in the blanks. “Goddess of love, beauty, all that good stuff. Someone had a lot of money betting that you were one of us,” she confided in him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas tried to look at Eliott for help in this interaction, but he was looking away pointedly. “My mom is normal,” he said instead, “Mortal.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné bit her lip, like she was holding back a grin. “That’s what my sister Lola guessed, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why did that name sound familiar? “Lola…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me.” Another voice joined them. It was the girl he’d seen with Eliott, who he’d saved from being eaten by that monster. She looked at him with a bored expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re welcome,” Lucas said, watching as her eyes narrowed, “You know, for saving your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grimaced at him, hand on the sword at her side. She started to say something, but Daphné glared at her, and she rolled her eyes, going back inside where she’d come from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your sister seems nice,” Lucas observed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné waved a hand airily. “She’ll come around. You didn’t have to be a dick, either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he said, though he wasn’t, and Daphné looked like she knew it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott jumped in, likely to diffuse some tension, “Daphné here is a master of disguise. Her skill with beauty work can really transform anyone into anything, though more in an illusion way, not a shapeshifting way. Also, her love advice rarely goes amiss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That all sounded fine, but not really as cool as having actual superpowers, like Eliott, Lucas thought. As if sensing what he was thinking, Eliott continued, “Some children of Aphrodite have the power of charmspeak, too. They can make anyone do anything, just by telling them to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas thought of the weird disconnected feeling that had come over him when Lola had made him stop running away. “Lola can charmspeak?” he asked, already knowing the answer as Eliott and Daphné nodded. “Well that’s just great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is,” Daphné said defensively, “It’s saved a lot of lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Eliott cut in again, smiled a bit tense around the edges, “I brought you to Daph because she knows everything and everyone. She can give you the rundown on some campers and their godly parents, if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas didn’t see a problem with that, especially because he was severely lacking in mythological knowledge. Before he could do so much as nod, Daphné launched into a wild spiel, pointing to people as she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s see… over there is Alexia, daughter of Iris, goddess of the rainbow, ugh she’s with Arthur again— son of Hermes, you’ll meet him soon enough if you remain unclaimed— I told her not to go down that road again, but she never learns that my love advice is to be listened to, not ignored. There’s Yann, son of Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire, he’s chill, you’ll like him, and he’s with Basile, as per usual, son of Ares, god of war— which everyone is still confused by, Baz doesn’t have a warlike bone in his body— we used to date, actually, a while back, but I suppose you don’t care about that. Emma and Imane, daughters of Dionysus, god of wine, and Nike, goddess of victory, respectively. Hmm… who else… Sofiane, Imane’s boyfriend and Eliott’s brother, another son of Apollo, Idriss, another son of Nike— he and Imane actually have the same father as well, which is rare but not unheard of. Oh! There’s Maya, Lola’s girlfriend, daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem very well informed of people’s love lives,” Lucas observed, though he supposed that made sense, with who her mom was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné glowed in response. “I mean, it’s my job as the head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin. I have a feeling love is closer than you think, by the way, for yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas blinked. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné shrugged, sparing a glance at Eliott, then back at Lucas. “Just a hunch. Speaking of love, I wonder where Manon is… I think she’d like you. She’s a daughter of Zeus. Maybe she’s in her cabin…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon. A name Lucas hadn’t heard in years. It could be a coincidence, of course, but at the same time… “Manon Demissy?” he asked. Daphné frowned at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “She’s my cousin. She went missing when we were twelve…” he trailed off. Had she been here the whole time? Why didn’t his aunt and uncle know that? Did they have the same godly parent?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné and Eliott exchanged a glance, before Daphné took a hold of his arm and dragged him after her, Eliott stumbling along behind them trying to keep up, towards the towering cabin at the end of the path, which looked more like a mausoleum than a cabin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Manon!” Daphné yelled once they were outside the door. “You’d better be in there, and you’d better open up, because your </span>
  <em>
    <span>cousin</span>
  </em>
  <span>—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was cut off by the door opening, and Lucas stared into a face he only had the barest memories of. She was a lot older now, sure, but still, Lucas knew exactly who she was. Her face blanched considerably when she saw Lucas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lulu?” she asked, stepping all the way outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas shifted uncomfortably at the nickname. “Uh, no one really calls me that anymo—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon pulled him into a tight hug, and Lucas melted into it. His missing cousin, apparently, was just like him. When she pulled back she searched his face. “But how are you— Are you a half-blood?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas shrugged. “I guess so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s your father, then?” she asked, looking to Daphné and Eliott both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know,” Eliott said, “He’s unclaimed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At eighteen?” Manon seemed confused by his age more than anything, even though they were only about a month apart in age. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott and Daphné seemed to be thinking the same thing. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>you survive this long? Most demigods don’t make it on their own past twelve out there, and the gods are supposed to claim us all by the time we’re thirteen,” Eliott said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could be the son of a minor god,” Daphné offered, “Alexia was out there until she was fifteen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were all looking at him expectantly, so Lucas launched into the story of his childhood, to when he’d been sent to live with Manon’s parents, how they’d moved around any time anything strange happened, and how everything had only been able to catch up with him now that he was on his own in New York.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon shook her head. “It still doesn’t make sense, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your parents think you’re dead, by the way,” he said, wondering why that wasn’t bothering her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked apprehensive for a moment, then said, “Lu, my mother and her husband died when I was twelve. That’s why I came to camp. I don’t have any family out there, other than you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about? Who the hell have I been living with for years, then?” Lucas demanded, but Manon looked confused as ever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to talk to Jo,” Eliott said, and Daphné nodded. “Her mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic, if anyone can peel back the Mist on this one, it’s her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do I have a feeling you’re not talking about actual mist?” Lucas asked as he followed the three of them across the green once again. None of them answered him, which was answer enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jo!” Eliott yelled as they came across a purple cabin with a strange energy surrounding it. “We need your expertise!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardly a moment later, a girl that seemed to be a bit younger than Lucas was at the door, breathless and smiling widely. She looked at Eliott with what was either severe infatuation or admiration. “Anything for my favorite camper,” she said, looking at all of them in turn, until her eyes rested on Lucas. “You must be the newbie! You’re a lot older than I thought you’d be, how the hell did you make it out there that long?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what we need your help with,” Manon said, explaining the rest of the situation. Jo’s expression hardened as she did so, and she nodded seriously at the end. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see what I can do.” Then, her expression was bright again. “Come inside Lucas! I don’t bite, I promise! Unless you want me to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jo,” Eliott said, exasperatedly, like he’d had to do this a lot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She put her hands up. “Alright, alright. Come on, let’s see if we can figure out your story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas tried to protest as she pulled him inside, door shutting behind her, leaving Eliott, Manon, and Daphné on the outside. She looked at him sympathetically. “I know it's overwhelming, but I promise you don’t have to be scared. Your job is easy, you just have to sit there while I work my magic. Literally.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was led to an entirely dark room and shoved unceremoniously into a chair. Jo waved her hand and a bunch of purple orbs filled the room, glowing with light. “Just close your eyes, and think about your family— your mortal family. I’ll do the rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas did as he was told, first thinking about his mother, and Manon, meeting his extended family when he was young. Only… that was odd, his aunt, Manon’s mother, looked quite a bit different than she did now, though maybe that was just because she was younger. There were weird, fuzzy gaps in his brain, from when he’d had to leave Paris and come to live with his aunt and uncle, which seemed strange. There were a lot of weird, fuzzy gaps, actually, the more he thought about it. Jo gasped, and Lucas opened his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jo sighed, looking at Lucas like she’d seen something she wished she hadn’t. “It really is a curse, being able to do the things that I do,” she said simply, holding out a hand. “Come on, we have lots to share.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott, Daphné, and Manon were all bickering when Jo opened the door to let them both out of the cabin. They looked up at Jo expectantly. Well, actually, Manon and Daphné did, Eliott looked at Lucas, searching his face with his eyes, almost like he was asking if Lucas was ok. Lucas nodded, giving him a hint of a smile, which Eliott returned with one of his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure y’all will like what I have to say,” Jo warned them all, then turned to Manon. “Can we go to your cabin? I don’t want to talk about it with a bunch of people around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon frowned, but they all followed her back to the massive cabin at the end of the row once again. While they walked, Lucas couldn’t stop thinking of what all this secrecy and worry might lead to. Bad enough he’d just found out that the people he’d been living with weren’t actually related to him, did he really need to learn that he was the son of the god of, like, toilets, or something? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they walked in Lucas noticed that the cabin was more or less set up like a museum, not a livable space. There was a massive statue of a god that Lucas assumed was Zeus, because he was carrying a lightning bolt (hey, he didn’t know much, but he knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> much), but it was a bit unnerving, because it felt like his eyes were following them as they walked across the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are your siblings?” Lucas asked, looking around. All of the other cabins seemed to have a great number of campers living in them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have any,” Manon said, opening a compartment in the wall just outside statue Zeus’ eyeline. Daphné followed like she’d been there a million times, and Eliott and Jo didn’t seem to have any hesitation, so Lucas went after them, closing the compartment behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zeus is one of the Big Three, which includes Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades,” Manon continued as they followed her, “And a long time ago, there was this big pact between the Big Three to never sire any more demigods, because of some prophecy nonsense, or something. I don’t know, it was before our time. There was this big war, and then they decided to do away with that rule, but the children of the Big Three are more powerful than most demigods. Which makes them more dangerous, more of a liability. There were a lot of us, for a time, but then the gods decided to get rid of us in case we’d cause too much trouble. As if it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault for existing. Each of the Big Three was supposed to choose one child to live, and I happened to be the luckiest of the bunch, because I was just a baby. I think I technically have a sister, but she’s a Hunter of Artemis, so she was exempt from this new rule. Poseidon chose this guy who’s an adult now, living in New Rome, because he pretty much saved them from destruction a number of times and he also hadn’t had anymore demigod children after him. Hades refused to choose, and the gods banished him to Tartarus. He only had two kids, both of whom pretty much saved the gods asses a million times over, and he didn’t think they deserved to be punished for existing, rightfully so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were now in a chamber that Lucas definitely thought hadn’t existed previously. It was decorated in a way that seemed somewhat recent and it looked like more of a secret hideout than a bedroom. Everyone took a seat on various furniture, Daphné and Manon’s hands tangling together as they sat beside one another on the bed. Lucas was still trying his best to take in all the information, but he got lost at Tartarus. “So… Zeus killed a bunch of his kids, is the moral of the story?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné scoffed. “It was Hera who did it. She hates all children of Zeus, because she’s the goddess of marriage. Really, she just wanted to punish him, and all those innocent kids got caught in the crossfire. She only roped Poseidon and Hades into it so the other gods would agree. Everyone knew Poseidon only had one demigod child, and no one cared enough about Hades or his kids to intervene in that regard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But if they all hate Hades, why is he one of the Big Three?” Lucas asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, the whole concept of the Big Three is inherently sexist to begin with, because it only recognizes the male children of Kronos,” Manon said. “But that’s basically why. He’s also much more powerful than anyone gives him credit for, he could wipe us all out if he wanted to. I think Zeus knows that, which is part of why he had him banished.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what’s Tartarus, then?” Lucas asked, catching on, but still hopelessly lost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Eliott who chimed in this time, voice cold and somewhat afraid. “There’s the Underworld, and then there’s Tartarus, which is like the hell of all hells. Worse than the Fields of Punishment tenfold. It’s the home of all the monsters, where they go to regenerate when we kill them, and is a prison or a home for the nastiest immortal beings in the universe. The only thing deeper than Tartarus is Chaos, from which </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> was borne. The good, the bad, all of it. Only three demigods have ever been inside Tartarus, and they all barely survived it. Hades is being punished there, because he refused to kill one of his children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas looked at each of them with wide eyes. “But that’s awful!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon nodded grimly. “Hades isn’t the nicest of the gods, not by a longshot, but he’s a million times better than my own father, and he definitely doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zeus isn’t my dad, is he?” Lucas asked warily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon smiled sadly. “You’d be dead if he was. Hera killed my mother and my stepfather, you know, as retribution for the fact that I’m alive, even though she agreed to letting one of his children live. Don’t worry about this all too much, though, you’re probably just a child of a minor god and you’ll get some sick powers out of the deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jo sat up in her beanbag chair. “Actually… that’s what we have to talk about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, right. Lucas had almost forgotten about her magic, and what they were trying to find out about his past. Daphné encouraged her, “Well? Spill.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jo sighed. “So, I was able to see through the Mist on his memories, and I’m not sure you’ll like what I found. His aunt and uncle, the ones who’ve been hiding him all these years, they’re two of the Kindly Ones.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kindly Ones?” Lucas asked, but he saw everyone else’s faces had paled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d wondered why they never came after us anymore… I thought it was because of Hades…” Manon mumbled to herself, but Lucas still didn’t follow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Kindly Ones, better known as the Furies, are monsters that serve Hades. They come after us, sometimes, but they mostly stick by his side and do his bidding,” Eliott explained. “If they’ve been protecting you all these years…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You must be a child of Hades,” Manon said, finishing both Eliott’s thought and her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas laughed loudly, sure they were just joking around with him. Hades? No way, he was just some minor demigod, not someone who should, for all intents and purposes, be dead. These people were all crazy after all, he’d been right all along. He forced another laugh and shook his head. “Come on, guys, you can’t be serious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they weren’t looking at him, they were looking just above him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, it seems that we are,” Daphné said gravely, and Lucas looked above his head just in time to see a glowing symbol disappearing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve just been claimed,” Eliott said, “By the god of the dead. Lucas, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> a son of Hades.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And wasn’t that just fan-fucking-tastic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only was he half god, he was half of a god who should have had him killed when he was a baby. He supposed that was a point in his father’s favor that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>dead, but couldn’t he have done more to keep him hidden from this world? He was a god, that should have been in his power. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The good news for you is that you have four eyewitnesses,” Manon said, and Lucas could nearly see the wheels spinning in her head. He didn’t know how that helped anything, now there were just four other people who knew a secret that could get him killed the moment he stepped back outside into camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daphné, though, seemed to understand what Manon was saying. “Four eyewitnesses who saw you claimed by any god </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> than Hades,” she said, and Lucas understood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t ask you guys to do that for me,” he argued, “What if something happens to you as a result?” He didn’t even know any of them, really, he couldn’t ask them to risk themselves like this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it’s a choice between seeing you live or seeing you die, I’m going to go with the former, no matter who you are,” Jo said simply, and the other three nodded beside her. Lucas appreciated this level of blind faith in him, even if he didn’t know if he deserved it. Obviously, he didn’t want to die, and it meant a lot that these four people he barely knew cared enough to make sure he didn’t. They could very well do the same with every other demigod, but every other demigod wasn’t there right now, so Lucas let himself feel this unearned love, just a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A thought struck him, then, that may put a crimp in their plan. “But how will I pretend to be the child of another god?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jo winked at him. “Leave that to me. My siblings are great and all, but if you really want magic done right, you come to me. I can make it look like one of the other gods has claimed you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But which one?” Manon inquired, tilting her head to one side like she was working through every god in her mind. “It has to be one of the male gods, because his mother is mortal and that’s easy to prove, but it can’t be one of the ones that has obvious, testable, powers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could be Apollo,” Daphné suggested, “Apollo has a lot of different skills, so Lucas must fit into one of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Eliott interjected, voice sounding a bit hoarse, like he hadn’t meant to say anything. Everyone’s heads shot in his direction and he blushed, pretending that the floor was very interesting all of a sudden. He mumbled, “Children of Apollo have certain traits that are too easy to prove Lucas doesn’t have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas didn’t know whether to take offense to that, and he was a little bit hurt that Eliott didn’t think him worthy enough to be a son of the sun god, but he supposed that’s what he got when he was a child of a death god. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon snapped, taking everyone’s attention off of Eliott, for which he seemed grateful. “What about Hypnos, god of sleep? I’m fairly good friends with Lisa, their head counselor, and the only real requirement for that one is the ability to sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, uh, have insomnia,” Lucas admitted. Of course, he couldn’t even fit in with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>sleeping</span>
  </em>
  <span> god. Eliott snorted into his hand, and tried to cover it up with a cough, which weirdly made Lucas feel better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ares?” Manon offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas squinted. “The war guy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Dionysus?” Jo chimed in, only to be cut off by Daphné.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mr. D literally works at this camp, Jo, absent as he is at the moment. I think he’d know who his children are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Hermes?” Eliott suggested. He looked a bit uncomfortable with everyone’s attention on him again, but he continued, “I mean, he’s sort of a jack of all trades, so his kids don’t usually have any particularly defining characteristics, aside from the occasional theft.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve stolen things,” Lucas supplied, in a way that he hoped was helpful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott smiled widely, gesturing to him. “He’s stolen things!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That just might work,” Daphné said with a nod, starting to smile. “And Arthur would have our back on this, should the truth come out in any way. I mean, I think we should keep it between the five of us, but we know Arthur’s trustworthy, is all. Plus, no one would question it, Hermes has lots of kids.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would also make sense as to why you’ve gone this long without coming to camp. Hermes is powerful enough that some of his kids have issues in the real world, but a lot of them can make it without any problems,” Manon added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well?” Eliott asked him, smile still just as bright as a second ago. “What do you say, Lucas, son of Hermes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas nodded slowly. “I think I could do that. And you guys are sure that— that you can help me with this?” He didn’t want to ask for too much, but if they were willing, it would be nice to not be alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each of them nodded in turn. “We’re a team now,” Manon promised, daring the others to disagree. They didn’t, which was a relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Lucas thought about all the ways he’d thought his life would have gone, and this was so far out of anything he’d ever considered that he was still having a hard time processing it all, but it really struck him, in that moment, that it was all real, that this was his life now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked at Eliott, who looked back at him with curiosity in his eyes, and it felt like a wave of understanding passed between the two of them. Lucas didn’t entirely know what that understanding </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but it comforted him. Maybe, just maybe, this would turn out all right.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. part ii. truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for all the love on part 1, i hope you all like the next 2 parts just as much :,)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lucas had been at Camp Half-Blood for three months, when the first accident happened. His plan with Eliott, Manon, Daphné, and Jo had gone off without a hitch, Jo crafting the perfect illusion to convince all of the campers that Lucas Lallemant was a son of Hermes and the entire cabin welcoming him with open arms. The thing was, of course, that he wasn’t actually a child of Hermes. No, in an unlucky turn of events, he was a child of Hades, which would have been all well and good if Hades wasn’t currently being tortured in the depths of Tartarus for refusing to kill his half-blood children in an attempt to appease the other Olympians. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas felt a little horrible, sometimes, about how well he was treated by the others in the Hermes cabin, given that he knew very well that none of them were truly related. Arthur, the head counselor, was one of the best friends he’d made at camp so far, because they’d spent a lot of time together getting Lucas caught up on all things demigod, and Lucas was dreading him finding out that everything he knew about Lucas was a lie. Hopefully that day would never come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aside from the four that were in on his true identity, Lucas had also gotten close with Yann, son of Hephaestus, and Basile, son of Ares. Yann felt like the brother he’d never had, in a lot of ways. It felt like they knew one another much longer than three months. The girls, too, Manon and Daphné’s friends, had taken him in as one of their own, partly because he was Manon’s cousin and partly because they were just nice people in general. They made him feel normal, in a world that was anything but.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiron, who ran the camp, definitely wasn’t convinced that Lucas was as ordinary as he claimed, and he’d only called Lucas on it once. They’d been alone, and he’d said that Lucas didn’t need to hide anything, that this was a safe place for all half-bloods, no matter where or who they came from. Lucas thanked him for saying so, but pretended to be confused as to why anything needed to be said at all. Chiron merely narrowed his eyes and accepted Lucas’ lies for the time being, but Lucas was certain it wouldn’t last forever. Luckily, Chiron’s suspicions seemed to be more about his life before camp than who his godly parent was, because everyone had seen him claimed at the dining pavilion the night he arrived at camp, and who were they to question something they’d seen hundreds of times before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, yes, on the surface, Lucas was doing fine, adjusting to this new life with ease, but that didn’t account for little incidents that, once they started, didn’t seem to be close to stopping any time soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first was when he accidentally shadow travelled while taking a shower. He didn’t even know how he’d done it, one moment he was making his hair into a giant spike, the next he leaned a little bit too close to the wall and felt like he was being sucked into a vacuum. It was the strangest sensation, he felt every nerve in his body stand on end, and at the same time it felt like his skin was peeling back from his face. But then, in a way that was both jarring and relieving, the world became bright again and everything came back into focus. While he’d been lost in the shadows, all he’d been thinking of was who would be able to find him in the dark, and how maybe a certain son of the sun god would be able to help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This, of course, was how he found himself standing in the middle of the Apollo cabin which was, thankfully, empty. He’d only been in there once before, people usually didn’t hang out in cabins of gods they weren’t descended from (and yes, Lucas saw the irony in the fact that he was living in one such cabin), but he remembered it well enough to know that he was in Eliott’s space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even if he hadn’t seen it before, he would have known anyway. There were drawings tacked up everywhere, people drawn as animals, as Eliott had explained to Lucas the only other time he’d been in there. He wasn’t sure if he made the animal list yet, or made the wall, but a part of him hoped he did.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Lucas could even think to react to his new surroundings, there were light footsteps, then the sound of something dropping to the ground. Lucas turned, and Eliott stood there with his mouth agape, books he’d been carrying dropped at his feet. He shut his eyes when he realized Lucas was looking back at him, and Lucas remembered he was entirely naked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grabbed the first thing he saw, which happened to be a blanket on Eliott’s bed, and wrapped it around his waist, stammering, “I’m so sorry, you can open your eyes I don’t know what I’m doing here—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott cracked his eyes open carefully, face bright red, but he refused to look directly at Lucas. “Why is your hair up in a fake mohawk?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Lucas said, quite intelligently, “I was in the shower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were in the shower,” Eliott repeated, clearly not understanding. Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his makeshift towel and began to explain how he’d just been minding his own business in the shower and leaned into a shadow, somehow, and ended up there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why here?” Eliott asked, seeming unfazed by the rest of the explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Eliott, I just teleported.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott shook his head. “No, you shadow travelled. I’ve never seen someone do it before, but it’s a power the children of Hades have, we’ve all heard of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas stared at him blankly. “You’re gonna have to elaborate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’m no expert, but I think it just means that you can sort of… melt into shadows and come out of them somewhere else, as long as you’re thinking of a destination,” Eliott explained, still looking adamantly away from Lucas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Lucas said, “But how did I end up here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott shrugged, like he was wondering the same thing. Lucas felt like he should leave, but he was still, for all intents and purposes, naked, and he didn’t really feel like having to explain that to anyone. He’d only just started to feel like he belonged, and this would definitely set that back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, um, I’ll go, but do you have something I can borrow so I don’t completely embarrass myself out there?” Lucas asked hurriedly, hoping that if he said it quickly enough Eliott would agree without thinking too much about it. Lucas wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t blind. Eliott was the most attractive person he’d ever known, and even though they hadn’t known each other long, somehow they pretty much always operated on the same wavelength, understanding each other on an extra deep level. So, wearing Eliott’s clothes may have been a bit of a selfish request, but it was also necessary at the present moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course,” Eliott said a bit belatedly, busying himself with his wardrobe, tossing some clothes to Lucas and turning away while he changed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas drowned in the clothes a bit, but they smelled like sunshine, like Eliott, and somehow, they felt like home. When Lucas looked up, Eliott was looking at him with a look in his eyes that Lucas couldn’t place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess I’ll get out of your hair, then,” Lucas said breaking the silence that he hadn’t even realized had stretched tensely over the two of them. Eliott didn’t reply, seemingly at a loss for words. Lucas didn’t know if it was a good or a bad sign. Regardless, he smiled gratefully at Eliott and made his way to the door, opening it up and stepping outside only to be paused by fingers brushing against his and turning him around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott dropped his hand as quickly as he’d reached for Lucas, biting his bottom lip. “You look good,” he said, then closed the door, leaving Lucas staring like a fool. He made it back to his own cabin without any interference, thankfully, and his thoughts were so preoccupied with Eliott that he forgot anything strange had happened at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second time his cover was almost blown was while he was with Yann, about a month after the shadow travelling incident. Neither Eliott nor Lucas had mentioned it again, but there were a lot of things about that moment Lucas hadn’t been able to get out of his mind. Namely, the pinkness on Eliott’s cheeks throughout their entire exchange. Though, Lucas supposed, he had been partially naked for most of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yann was universally known around the camp as being the best blacksmith they had, especially as head of the Hephaestus cabin, so naturally he was the person you went to if you were in need of a weapon. The only reason it had taken Lucas that long to get his own weapon was because he needed to learn how to use a bunch of them before deciding which he liked best. Most people favored swords, then there was Eliott and most of his siblings, who were natural archers, but Lucas felt most at home with a dagger in his hands. It wasn’t the most practical weapon for someone who was pretty new to all of this demigod shit, but it felt comfortable, in a way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The weapons at Camp Half-Blood were forged in celestial bronze, whatever that meant, and apparently the Roman counterpart of their camp forged weapons in imperial gold, whatever that meant. Weapons were weapons, as far as Lucas was concerned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow Lucas had found himself becoming good friends with Yann, which definitely had its perks. It felt hard to fully take part in some of his new friendships, though, knowing that he was lying to everyone but Eliott, Daphné, Manon, and Jo. It was times like this, when he started thinking too much, that accidents happened, and he was helpless to stop them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, this one was a well timed accident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He and Yann had just been talking, about nothing in particular, and Lucas had the sensation of Yann’s life flashing before his eyes, life force draining right in front of him. That couldn’t have meant anything good, so Lucas pulled Yann from his workstation, panic in his eyes and his heart, just as what looked to be a ton of metal fell from one of the shelves above them right to where Yann had been sitting a second ago. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yann looked at Lucas with a mix of confusion and relief. “You just saved my life,” he said, “How…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard it starting to fall,” Lucas lied, a bit shaken. That was new, he’d never felt something like that before, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He also didn’t know if his interference was going to be a problem or not. Of course he didn’t want Yann to die, but he knew the fates existed, and pretty much everything they did was predetermined by some force or another, so if he messed with those plans too much, would that cause an issue? If anything, it would draw more attention to him, which was the last thing he wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bunch of campers poked their heads in, probably startled by the noise, looking back and forth from Lucas to Yann and back again. “What happened?” Chiron asked, trotting up to them with a furrowed brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yann explained, stating once again that Lucas had saved his life, and Lucas met Manon’s eyes, a wave of understanding passing between the two of them. Chiron looked at him suspiciously, and he tried to look as innocent as possible, but he didn’t know if it worked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slipped away at the nearest opportunity, feeling a bit more exhausted than he felt necessary. He was also trembling like a leaf, and he kept his hands clenched at his sides so as to not give himself away. He didn’t know what brought him there, but he stopped himself in front of the Hades cabin and, against his better judgement, pushed open the door to go inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The inside seemed a lot warmer than the outside, which was cold and powerful, with green fire burning day in and day out. The inside felt like a home made by someone who’d never really had one. One of Lucas’ siblings had designed this place, according to Manon, and he felt an odd sort of kinship with them, whoever they were, because it felt like the type of place he’d been searching for his whole life. It wasn’t much, but it beat the Hermes cabin, where he felt like a fraud even while he slept. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were multiple bunks, which seemed ironic given that there never had been enough children of Hades to fill them, but Lucas sat on one that seemed as though it had never been disturbed. Or maybe it had, how was he to know? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air was a bit chiller now that the initial wave of warmth had passed, likely more due to this new sense of belonging than actual heat, but the chill comforted Lucas. It actually made him want to snuggle into the bed under the covers and forget about his somewhat chaotic life for the time being. Maybe it was the false feeling of security he’d felt the moment he stepped inside the room, maybe it was naivety, but he did just that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, he fell asleep harder and faster than he ever had, but unfortunately, his nightmares decided to rear their ugly heads. In his dream he was in a darkness that felt completely wrong, like it was the type of place someone like him didn’t belong. There were screams coming from every direction, but they sounded like they belonged, like someone was in severe pain, but they delighted in it rather than running from it. Lucas immediately had a sense of where his dream self was, but he didn’t allow himself to think it for fear that he might accidentally send himself there, as that was apparently something he could do now if he wasn’t careful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His dream carried him to the edge of an abyss, and right at the edge stood a pale man with oily black hair, shackled at the wrists and ankles. He looked like someone powerful, like he shouldn’t have been constrained in the way he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas took a step towards him, heart beating loudly in his ears. “Dad?” he whispered, because who else could it be?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Lord of the Dead heard him, somehow, and lifted his head in shock, fear mingling with recognition on his face. “Lucas…” he said, trailing off, reaching out gently, and Lucas found himself doing the same. Just before they could touch, Lucas felt a hand on his shoulder, and before he could do anything about it, he was being dragged back into a conscious state, Eliott’s pale blue eyes staring down at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt a rush of embarrassment, like he was somewhere he shouldn’t have been, which was both technically true and untrue. Eliott’s gaze dropped to his lips, and Lucas blushed. Eliott must have noticed, because he coughed awkwardly and said, “You drool when you sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The universe seemed to be sending him a signal saying, </span>
  <em>
    <span>would you like a free side of humiliation to your already humiliating existence?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn’t want it, but it appeared the universe didn’t care much about that. Go figure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached his hand up realizing that, yes, Eliott was right, and he sat up in the bed, confused as to why Eliott was even there in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured if no one could find you, I’d find you here,” Eliott said before he could ask, looking proud of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People are looking for me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott wrinkled his brows slightly, like he thought Lucas was joking. “There was an accident at Yann’s workstation, and you just ran off afterward, people want to make sure you’re doing ok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, that made sense, Lucas supposed. “People,” Lucas repeated, almost dazedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s eyes met his, then, and there was a depth to the softness that Lucas found there. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted to make sure you were doing ok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas couldn’t help the way his heart clenched inside his chest, he knew exactly what it meant, but he didn’t need anything like that at the moment, especially with someone who probably had little to no chance of ever feeling the same way. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d be around very long, it was only a matter of time before the truth of his parentage was revealed and he’d have to deal with those consequences as they came. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott was looking at Lucas somewhat expectantly, somewhat hesitantly, like he’d either said something he shouldn’t have, or was waiting to see what Lucas would say next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad it was you who found me,” Lucas said, because he had no brain to mouth filter. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Way to go Lucas, why don’t you just tell the guy you’re a bit infatuated with him?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He amended, quick as he could, “You know, because of where I am. I don’t know how I’d explain that to anyone other than you, Daphné, Manon, and Jo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Eliott said, looking a bit deflated, for some reason. He paused for a moment, then continued, “We have capture the flag tomorrow, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas nodded. He’d heard the Hermes kids talking about it, but he didn’t see what the big deal was. Capture the flag was just a boring old game he used to play in gym class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermes and Apollo have an alliance,” Eliott expanded, raising an eyebrow, then licking his bottom lip nervously. “Since you’re sort of new to all of this, I thought that maybe I could show you the ropes, have your back, whatever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas thought to himself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe, maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “That’d be great. I love Arthur, but I don’t necessarily trust him when it comes to rules.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then, I guess I’ll leave you to it,” Eliott said, standing from the bed, “Though I’d advise you to sneak out of here soon, lest other people find you in here and get suspicious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott looked him up and down, walking backwards across the room. Just as he got to the door, after he checked to make sure no one was walking by, the corner of his mouth quirked up, just enough for Lucas to notice, as he said, “Nice sweatshirt, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas looked down at himself and blushed furiously. In his defense, he’d meant to spend the day with Yann, he hadn’t thought he’d be running into Eliott. So what if he was wearing the sweatshirt Eliott had loaned him when he’d shadow travelled? Maybe it was his only clean sweatshirt. (Ok, that was obviously untrue, given the fact that the harpies came and did laundry once a week, but shhh.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time he looked back up, Eliott was gone, and he was left there alone once again, wondering how his life had led him to where he was now. Contrary to how he’d felt up to this point, he didn’t mind where he’d ended up. Sure, being an undercover child of Hades wasn’t the best case scenario, but he didn’t think he could ever go back to living a relatively mundane life knowing that all of this was out there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did manage to sneak out of the Hades cabin without being caught, thankfully. Maybe he was more like the Hermes kids than he thought. Whatever the case, he made it back there without anyone questioning him much about his whereabouts. Arthur filled him in on capture the flag plans, and he still didn’t understand what the big deal with this game was, but he listened intently regardless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the accident in the workshop, Yann was still able to finish Lucas’ weapon of choice before the game on Friday, which probably should have tipped Lucas off that this was less middle school gym class and more death match with a fun name. Someone leant Lucas armor since he didn’t have his own, and the feathers in his helmet were the same color as those of the Apollo, Aphrodite, Nike, and Hermes cabins, to name a few. Everyone was involved in the game, it seemed. The most notable cabins on the opposition were Ares, Hephaestus, Hecate, and Athena. It was never a good sign when Athena and Ares teamed up, according to Arthur. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon was refereeing, because she either didn’t want to pick a side, or everyone thought whichever team she was a part of would have an unfair advantage given the extent of her powers. She didn’t seem too upset about it, though, and she wished Lucas luck before he set off. Daphné had been arguing with her about giving their team some hints, but Manon was nothing if not as morally upstanding as she could ever try to be. Lucas sometimes wondered if she was that way because she was trying to make up for the things her father had done, even if he was the king of the gods. He’d only been at camp with her for a short period of time, but he’d never seen her use any of her powers, which was a statement in itself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hermes cabin was on defense with Apollo, which Lucas would never admit that he was a bit grateful for for many reasons. The primary one being that sure, he had a celestial bronze knife now, and sure, he’d done a bit of training, but come on. He had no idea what he was doing. The rules, explained in more depth to him just before they started, seemed more simple than he’d thought, but the game was more daunting now than he’d expected it to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(The </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> primary reason he was happy about being on defense with Apollo might have had something to do with a certain Apollo camper. But, of course, you didn’t hear that from him.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Imane from the Nike cabin took charge of everything, battle plans drawn and all. Her mother was the goddess of victory, so Lucas thought it was probably in their best interest to listen to her every word. One of her brothers, Idriss, was sort of a co-captain in the sense that he provided encouragement to everyone and reminded them that this was just a game, not the end of the world. It seemed out of character for a child of Nike, but Sofiane informed Lucas that this was just how Imane and Idriss had always been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The third time something out of the ordinary happened, of course, was that night, because Lucas couldn’t have nice things for too long without his bad luck rearing its ugly head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before the game started, Eliott jogged over to where Lucas was positioned, a megawatt smile blinding every camper he passed on his way over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like we’re on defense together, huh?” Eliott said by way of greeting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it,” Lucas agreed, trying not to look </span>
  <em>
    <span>at</span>
  </em>
  <span> Eliott. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s bow was strapped to his back, quiver full of arrows. Lucas didn’t think he’d ever seen it any other way, even when Eliott was practicing his archery. As if he noticed Lucas’ focus, Eliott tapped his quiver. “Gift from my dad,” he said, pulling an arrow out and showing it to Lucas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like the Hunters of Artemis, it never runs out of arrows,” he explained further, “Comes in quite handy, let me tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can imagine,” Lucas said, instead of letting himself dwell in the sense of jealousy and longing that washed over him. He’d never get a gift like that from his father, he’d probably never even meet him. He finished, a bit awkwardly, “That’s really cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sensed that Eliott could see that his words didn’t entirely match his expression, but thankfully Eliott didn’t say anything about it, returning the arrow to the quiver and looking out across the field. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry too much about it,” Eliott said instead, “We have the easy job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott seemed sure of himself, but Lucas was a bit more hesitant. He wanted to say more, ask questions, but there was a war cry, and then chaos followed. Well, not chaos, exactly, a more organized version. Lucas seemed to be the only one feeling at all chaotic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was feeling uneasy in more ways than one, actually, he felt a tingling from his head to his toes that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did. It was like the earth was trying to speak to him, or maybe something beneath it was. Lucas tried not to dwell on the sensation, hoping that ignoring it would make it go away, but with his luck it wouldn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, he focused on all the things happening around him. He knew that he probably wouldn’t be involved in the brunt of the defense of the flag, because it was hidden on the opposite end of the field, so he took this time to see what skills and powers some of the other campers had, and how they used them. Lola was stationed near them on defense, telling anyone who came near to run in the opposite direction with her charmspeak, which was quite effective. Lucas didn’t know why they didn’t put her closer to the actual flag. Lucas’ cabinmates in Hermes were quite effective at fucking shit up in the best way possible, while also manning the defense, Arthur in particular. Somehow he was able to steal the opposite team’s weapons </span>
  <em>
    <span>while</span>
  </em>
  <span> they were in use. Go figure. There were some Demeter kids wrapping people up in vines, some Hecate kids, including Jo, making things spontaneously combust or disappear every time someone looked away, and there were kids of many other gods showcasing their unique and incredible abilities in every other direction. Lucas was in awe and a bit intimidated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott on the other hand, seemed unfazed, almost bored. No, not bored, there was a certain gleam in his eye, one that Lucas was growing accustomed to seeing whenever the two of them were together. It was different than Eliott looked while he was eating with his siblings, or training with Idriss, but Lucas couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly, was so different about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else do you know about Hades?” Lucas asked quietly, unsure why he brought it up at that moment, when anyone could hear. Eliott looked at Lucas quicker than he was expecting, and it caught him a bit off guard, to be ensnared in Eliott’s gaze like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott opened his mouth just as the air tensed around them and the hairs on the back of Lucas’ neck stood up. Something wasn’t right. Lucas felt a wave of some unnamable power roll through him, and that worried him more than the sudden darkness spreading across the valley, because it was the sort of power that couldn’t be tamed, not when he had no practice in taming it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a roar and the entire camp, which had been frozen in time as if waiting for something horrible to happen, sprung into action, running towards the source of the noise. Eliott glanced at Lucas mixed emotions crossing his face before he hefted Lucas over his shoulder and ran in the opposite direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott we need to help them! Something’s seriously wrong!” Lucas argued, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. “Eliott!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott set him down once they reached the dining pavilion, empty since everyone was off facing whatever had interrupted their game. Eliott’s eyes searched his with concern and apprehension. “You have to stop it, Lucas, whatever you’re doing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Lucas hissed desperately. He had a horrible feeling that something was about to happen, something terrible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The darkness, the chill… that’s not you?” Eliott asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That got Lucas’ attention. “What? No. Don’t you think if I could do that, I’d know it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t the best argument, but Eliott looked concerned in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>different </span>
  </em>
  <span>way now. “So you can’t stop it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so,” Lucas said helplessly, “But maybe if we went back there to help…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott shook his head. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, I’ve never met a child of Hades before, but from some of the things I’ve heard, I think that the whole coldness and darkness thing is in your wheelhouse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the thing was, Lucas didn’t think that Eliott was entirely wrong. He still felt that build up of power in his chest and was worried about what might happen if it released itself without him being ready for it. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more tense he was becoming, and the more he felt like he couldn’t so much as breathe without exploding. In fact… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas reached out a hand and grabbed Eliott’s forearm. “Eliott we need to get back there. Now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lucas I don’t think that’s a good idea—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott. Now.” He didn’t even bother explaining, and he knew that if he said another word, his power would speak for him, so he took off without waiting for Eliott’s response, not even slowing or turning around to see if Eliott would follow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The capture the flag game was forgotten entirely, as the field was now occupied by a massive monster of some sort, the likes of which Lucas couldn’t identify with his limited knowledge. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave them alone, and the combined might of the camp didn’t seem to be enough to face it. Lucas was so distracted for a moment that he didn’t realize that the reason the massive monster was still standing was partially attributed to a group of smaller but no less deadly monsters fighting in its wake, like it was the commander of some sort of monstrous army. Maybe it was, what did Lucas know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Lucas looked to his left, Eliott was panting beside him. “You’re stubborn, you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The power brimming to Lucas’ surface retreated a bit, as he smiled to himself at Eliott’s words. “I know,” he said, and launched himself into the fray, newly forged knife in his hand. Eliott joined right in with him, both of them coming to fight near Max, son of Nemesis, Sékou, son of Athena, and Jo, who Lucas already knew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Lucas heard Eliott ask.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of us know, not even Chiron. Or maybe he does, and he’s just not saying anything so we don’t get scared,” Sékou reasoned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max’s helmet had been tossed to the side at some point, and he raised his sword high above his head to swipe the beast coming towards them. “I think it might not be a monster. I think it might be something worse than that, and I think it’s looking for something.” Lucas and Eliott exchanged a glance, knowing what it might be looking for. “It’s the only way it could have gotten within the borders of camp.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas felt the surge of power in his veins draining at what Max said, and he felt a fog in his mind that was never a good sign. He felt like he was lost, like his false sense of belonging had been ripped from his hands. It was obvious this monster, or god, or whatever it was, was there for him, and he was a danger to everyone in ways that he couldn’t even begin to make up for. He dropped his knife and nearly sank to the ground himself, when an arm caught him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Hey, even though you’ll get a free pass to Elysium when you die,” Eliott began in a somewhat hushed tone, dodging a swipe from the claw of one of the massive beasts in front of him. He wiped a small trickle of blood from the side of his mouth and glanced back at Lucas with a warm smile. “If you don’t help me out here, you might be heading there in just a minute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a casual statement, a joke, but for some reason it made the ground feel sturdier beneath Lucas’ feet. It made him feel like he wasn’t as alone as he’d been his whole life, like someone other than a monster masquerading as family wanted him around, wanted him in their life. And maybe that wasn’t what Eliott’s intention had been, maybe he really just needed help fighting that monster, but it was hope, to Lucas, and he clung to it like a lifeline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a deafening silence in his ears as he picked up his knife and stood back up, letting everything inside of him consume him for one long, fractured moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get everyone to retreat,” Lucas said, voice steely calm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Lucas, no offense but—” Jo began, but he shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what I’m doing,” he assured her, taking one glance at Eliott. “I think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jo swore under her breath, but did as he said, shouting along the battlefield, Max in tow. Lucas expected Eliott to follow, but there he stood by Lucas’ side, unflinching. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott, go,” Lucas said, but he shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I trust you, but I’m not leaving you.” His jaw was clenched, adamant as the steely gray pushing its way into his eyes, and Lucas had no choice but to let him stand there, bow raised. Even though he was being stupid and reckless, Lucas sort of wanted to kiss him right then and there. He had to shake his head to get his mind focused back on what he had to do, hoping that the two of them would still be around afterwards to maybe make good on that momentary urge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas sensed more than saw the campers retreat, and even though he knew that this would probably give him away as who he truly was, he knew it was the only way. The monster before them was something from the depths of a pit even further beneath the earth than the underworld, Lucas knew that much for sure, and it had no place at Camp Half-Blood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes and let the world wash away, until even Eliott’s presence beside him, his golden, beautiful security, was forgotten over the haze of the power roaring in his veins. He took a deep breath in, then out, and when he opened his eyes, time stopped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Or maybe it didn’t, but it felt like it did.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A crack formed in the earth beneath the beast causing a fissure so deep the earth rumbled and almost knocked Lucas off his feet. In fact, he might have been shaking a bit, from the energy flowing out of him as he used his power. He screamed without hearing it, the extra push he needed to split the earth and swallow this creature whole. All of the other monsters that had come with were drawn to the fissure like magnets, and he clenched his hands, yelling as long as it took for them all to fall back to the source of all evil. There were three left… two… one… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fissure sealed itself back up with an abruptness that sent Lucas flying forward, hitting his chin on the ground so hard he nearly felt his brain shake in his skull. There was a quietude then, so very different from the one moments before when Lucas detached himself from reality entirely. This one was grounding, peaceful, like perhaps he’d made it to Elysium after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing Lucas felt was a hand on his back, Eliott’s hand, and then the quietude was broken as Eliott yelled his name, but in some ways Lucas still didn’t hear it, because all of a sudden he was looking at himself from afar, but only for a moment. Then, everything went black and his last thought was a prayer to his father, that he wasn’t dead, not yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After all, he hadn’t even kissed Eliott yet, and he’d curse the fates himself if he was destined to die before that happened.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks a mil for reading !! part 3 will def be out quicker bc i'm just editing it rn :)) </p><p>feel free to discuss this or anything w me on my tumblr: kieunora</p><p>love to all !!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. part iii. life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>soooo remember when i said this chapter would come faster 😳👉👈 sorry about that, life got away from me, but here we are at last!!</p><p>hope u like this last lil chapter of this mini au, i've had a lot of fun writing this one :,)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The second time Lucas awoke in the hospital wing, he knew he was in trouble. There was no way that at least Chiron hadn’t figured out the true source of his parentage. He hadn’t been very subtle, he was afraid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was vaguely aware that he was holding something, but his vision was a bit fuzzy so he didn’t sit up to try to look. The only other sound in the room was a fan, circling above him. After a few minutes, when he was sure he wouldn’t pass out again, he turned his head idly, gaze first latching onto a cup at his bedside table, filled with what Lucas could only assume was nectar. When he looked down further, he discovered what he was holding onto. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s hand, wrapped in his, attached to Eliott’s sleeping body curled into a very uncomfortable looking chair. He felt a redness rise to his cheeks at the implication. Had he held onto Eliott’s hand while he was passed out, and Eliott was too kind a person to let go? Eliott’s hand was nice, though, warm in a comforting way, not sweaty and uncomfortable, and Lucas didn’t really want to let go. Eliott’s hand twitched, and Lucas moved his gaze once again to see Eliott opening his eyes blearily, a soft grin on his face when he saw their intertwined hands, turning to sheer terror when he realized Lucas was awake. He retracted his hand quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about that,” he stammered, running a hand through his hair, “I was healing you, and then I must have fallen asleep or something…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a shitty excuse, but Lucas let it slide because he figured Eliott was trying to spare him some embarrassment. “What happened?” he asked, because he figured that was what he needed to know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you were right. You did know what you were doing,” Eliott said with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott sighed and leaned back in his chair. “But, you sort of gave yourself away. Everyone knows who you are now, and it’s only a matter of time before the gods find out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas wished that his heart didn’t plummet the way that it did. He’d never really been afraid of death, or dying, but was it selfish for him to not want to die? To be granted mercy, just this once, even though his mere existence was a crime?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose life was fun while it lasted.” He meant it as a joke, but it came out flat. Eliott’s brows furrowed and he rose in his seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Lucas. None of us are.” At Lucas’ confused expression, Eliott continued, “Everyone thinks it’s horrible, this new pact of the Big Three, and the subsequent punishment of Hades— of your father. The gods may be immortal, but they need us more than we need them, when it really comes down to it. They try to control us in any way they can </span>
  <em>
    <span>because</span>
  </em>
  <span> they can, and for so long we’ve just let them, but there are some of us who’ve challenged that, who have spit the way of the gods right back in their face. Poseidon’s son, for one. I’ve never met him, but he’s a legend. He saved the world twice and had the balls to turn down immortality when it was offered to him. We may have our fight training and capture the flag and whatnot, but when it all comes down to it, us half-bloods would go to any lengths to keep one another safe, because there are real enemies out there, and we need to be united against them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you saying that the gods are the real enemies?” Lucas asked quietly, trying to take in what Eliott was saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott shook his head. “I don’t think they have to be, or they should be, but I won’t eliminate the possibility that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> be. Zeus isn’t all bad, but he isn’t all good. He has no right to take a personal grudge out on children who didn’t ask to be the children of the gods in the first place. He has no right to take you away, not when you make the world so much better just by living and breathing in it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas held Eliott’s gaze, steadfast. “Whatever it is that you see in me, I can assure you that I’m not even worth half of that. If all it takes to keep the peace is my head on a silver platter, I’ll do my duty. I won’t endanger others when there’s a simple solution.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lucas you’re worth everything,” Eliott said, reaching for Lucas’ hand like he’d never wanted to let it go in the first place. “I’ve been alone my whole life in many ways, but the minute you stumbled into my life, I knew you were always meant to be a part of it. For better or for worse, I’ve found myself drawn to you in every possible way. I wake in the morning with a smile on my face, thinking of seeing you, and I fall asleep, dreams of your oceanic blue eyes consuming my subconscious. I know you may not think the same of me, and that’s all right, but please don’t think yourself worthless, because that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the first time Lucas had been breathless recently, but this time it knocked him so off guard that he was worried he might pass out again. Eliott clearly caught his momentary discomfort, and tried to slip his hand away, but Lucas held onto it tighter instinctively, which told him everything he needed to know. As if he didn’t know already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott?” he asked, voice an octave higher than usual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we forget about everything else, just for a moment? Can we forget about Zeus, and my father, and the fact that there’s a high possibility this might be the last happy moment of my life considering how many all powerful immortals likely want me dead?” He was rambling, but he didn’t care. He would allow himself this much, he had to, what with Eliott sitting there, saying the things he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott looked a bit confused. “Happy moment?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas sat up fully, placing a hand on Eliott’s cheek and looking deep into his stormy eyes. “Can we forget? Because I really want to kiss you right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s face cleared, a light smile growing timidly across his features. “We can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all Lucas needed before he leaned in, meeting Eliott in the middle, and their lips touched in a way that was bruising and gentle all at once. It felt like clarity, whatever clarity is supposed to feel like. Lucas was not going to die, or let himself be killed in the name of a god whose power had gone too far. Not when there was so much life left to live, so many more moments like this to be had, with Eliott by his side. Not only Eliott, but Manon, the cousin he’d only just rediscovered, or Yann, the best friend he never knew he needed. Arthur, the best fake brother he could ask for, or Basile, the kindest son of Ares he’d ever met. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of Eliott’s hands were on his face and they were kissing, they were kissing, and everything else fell away, forgotten, if only just for that minute. That minute was enough, Lucas decided, because it was everything he’d never even dared to hope for, and it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*** </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only downside to making out with Eliott: having to stop making out to face the reality that despite wishing otherwise, he might not be long for this world. Eliott wasn’t a fan of his pessimism, but Lucas was of the opinion that it was realism, plain and simple. Of course, realism would dictate that Eliott would never in a million years be kissing Lucas, of all people, so maybe realism didn’t always have to win.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t go as badly as Lucas had anticipated, actually, reentering society, or camp, or whatever he wanted to call it. Some people looked frightened of him, others pitying, but the friends he’d made stood by his side when Chiron stood up and asked what they were going to do about this new information. Yann was the first to say that Lucas wasn’t going to be given to the gods, not on his watch, and Manon was quick to follow. Even Arthur, whom he’d lied to for so long, still considered him brother enough to defend to the ends of the earth. Jo confessed to what she’d done, but she didn’t look worried in the slightest, saying she’d do it all over again because the way the gods ruled was unjust and she’d been taught to dismantle unjust systems rather than support them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott was by Lucas’ side the entire time, never saying a word, but Lucas knew where he stood, and it seemed everyone else did as well. Lucas honestly wondered how many people had seen right through the two of them from the very start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he went to bed, somehow still exhausted from the capture the flag events, combined with the emotional exhaustion of worrying he was going to die, he went to bed in the Hades cabin, but he wasn’t alone. It was against the rules, sure, but somehow Lucas found himself in a huddle with Eliott, Yann, Arthur, Basile, Manon, Daphné, Emma, Imane, Alexia, Idriss, Sofiane, Jo, Max, Sékou, Maya, and Lola. He didn’t even think Lola liked him, but she was still there, supporting him silently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yann kept looking at him knowingly, gracefully using this time to make unsubtle gestures between Lucas and Eliott, surveying any developments in their relationship rather than call them out on it. Lucas hadn’t technically told anyone that his heart burst every time Eliott was in the room, but Yann was a perceptive man. Annoyingly perceptive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone also wanted to hear his full story, now that they knew the truth of his parentage. There were still gaps that Lucas himself was uncertain about, but he told them about moving to America, his fake aunt and uncle, all the extra moving around, the weird things people said to him throughout his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur thought he was an idiot for not realizing things sooner, but Basile cut him some slack. After all, how was one to know that they were descended from an ancient deity? Or that those deities even existed in the first place? Truthfully, Lucas still had a hard time wrapping his head around it all. Yes, he believed in it, and he’d felt all that dormant power rise up in him in a way that couldn’t be faked even if you tried, but it was still confusing and mind numbing sometimes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of them took turns sharing their stories of finding out they were demigods, even if they’d told the stories a million times already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, the goddess of rainbows, how could I ever have guessed that? If it hadn’t been for Mika, the satyr who found me, I probably never would have known,” Alexia was saying when Lucas tuned back into the conversation, realizing he’d been staring at Eliott with what could probably be classified as a dopey smile on his face. Yann noticed this, because Yann noticed everything. He winked at Lucas, giving him a sarcastic thumbs up, which Lucas ignored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m still surprised Manon made it as long as she did, being a child of Zeus,” Emma chimed in resting her head on Manon’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manon glanced at the ground, shrugging gently. She never really talked about her father, or what that meant about who she was and the history of kids born to the king of the gods. “I’m a bit different, because I wasn’t claimed in a traditional sense. Zeus knew what the Big Three were planning to do, since he suggested it, and he apparently felt enough love for my mother that he spared me, so I was pretty much claimed right after I was born. My mom didn’t tell me until later, and then there was everything that happened to my parents because of who I was… I just don’t like to think about it, really. Because at the end of the day I don’t really deserve to be here at all, not when so many others were killed for me to be here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounded like a conversation that had been had before, but it also sounded like one Manon didn’t necessarily want to repeat. Maybe that was why no one said anything, or maybe they simply didn’t know what to say. All of their lives were varying degrees of fucked up, sure, but not on that same level. At least she was here, now, with all these people who so clearly cared about her. At least they all were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arthur broke up the tension by launching into his own story, full of wild twists and turns that Emma’s facial reactions told Lucas might not have been entirely truthful. He didn’t care, though, everyone was laughing and the whole cabin felt warm in a way that spelled friendship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of Eliott’s fingers brushed the back of Lucas’ hand, and when Lucas turned to the touch, he asked, “Can you come help me with something really quick?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas nodded, casting a glance to the others, but they were all still engaged enough in conversation that they didn’t notice as he slipped away with Eliott, just outside the cabin doors. Technically, they were breaking curfew, being out there, but Lucas shrouded them in a layer of darkness, something that came naturally to him once he thought it up. Eliott seemed as surprised as he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s new,” Eliott observed, but he didn’t look scared, just intrigued if not somewhat impressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas laughed weakly. “You’re telling me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott, observant as ever, must have noticed that Lucas’ intonation was a bit stilted, and he reached over to brush Lucas’ hair back, resting one hand on his cheek. “How are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a lie, and Eliott knew it. Lucas sighed. “Ok, not fine. But not necessarily bad either. Just… weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t even imagine what you’re going through,” Eliott said quietly, playing with some strands of Lucas’ hair. Lucas liked it more than he was willing to admit to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he shrugged. “Today’s not that bad, honestly. Finding out all the information about my father and the fact that I shouldn’t exist and was far more overwhelming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t say that.” Eliott cut him off, both hands now on his cheeks. “You should exist. You deserve to exist, and I won’t let any stupid god make you think otherwise. Their rules have been broken a million times over, what’s one more?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas smiled out of the corner of his mouth, leaning into Eliott’s touch. “Yeah, what’s one more?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And just so you know, I’m here. I’m sure you’ll need time to yourself, and you might have other people to help you through different things, but I’ll be by your side whenever you want me to be,” Eliott promised, words a careless whisper, lost to the wind but held in Lucas’ heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said, because it was all he could think to say without crying. He’d never had someone say something like that to him, he’d hardly been in one place long enough to make any sort of real connection with anyone. His mother was the only other person his heart had ever beat this loud for, and that both scared and comforted him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott leaned down, stealing a kiss, and Lucas let himself melt, just a little bit. He could feel Eliott’s soft smile along with his sincerity, and it felt so good to be held like that, hidden by shadows in an alcove outside the cabin, a space where loving not only felt possible, but inevitable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few more kisses were shared, each filled with more warmth than the last, and they finally decided to go back into the cabin, agreeing that they shouldn’t be risking their luck out past curfew when Lucas himself was a matter of contention regardless. Didn’t need any more reasons for the gods to want to kill him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though they had slipped away unnoticed, they didn’t return unnoticed, and Daphné was the first one to greet them, that simple knowing gleam in her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were just talking about you, Lucas,” she said mischievously, gaze dashing to Eliott. “We were talking about our bets about who your godly parent was, and how wrong we all were.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott looked flustered and coughed, staring adamantly at the ground. Lucas pulled him back into the group’s makeshift circle, sitting them down beside one another. “Oh yeah? Let me hear ‘em, then,” Lucas said. His hand was still laced with Eliott’s but neither one of them seemed to be in a rush to pull away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Us three thought you’d be Apollo,” Alexia said, gesturing between herself, Emma, and Basile. She smirks at Eliott. “But I guess it’s good that you’re not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas doesn’t have to look to know that Eliott’s face is likely as red as his, but a small part of him was happy that his infatuation was written so obviously on his face. That, somehow, in this world, Eliott was there beside him, holding his hand and kissing him gently in the moonlight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you’d be Athena,” Sékou admitted, “But that was before I knew your mother was mortal of course. You seemed like you’d fit in with us over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max raised his eyebrows. “Was that supposed to be a diss at the rest of us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sékou blinked in surprise. “What? No! If you think I was implying something else, that’s on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re above that, right?” Max shot back, and even though there was a bite to his words, he said them with a smile and an adoring glint in his eyes. Lucas shot his gaze to Daphné quickly, trying to inquire into what was going on there with his eyes. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her fingers in return, which Lucas couldn’t help but laugh at ever so slightly. With Daphné on the case, Lucas was sure there would be a grand love declaration come morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who did you think was his parent, again, Eliott?” Idriss asked innocently, ignoring the glare Eliott immediately directed his way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott mumbled something under his breath that even Lucas couldn’t hear, close as he was. Idriss pressed on. “What was that, Eli?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aphrodite,” Eliott said, still quiet, and his face was as red as the heart decorations adorning said cabin. Lucas couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emma and Arthur made cooing sounds, which made Eliott use his free hand to pull the hood of his sweatshirt down low on his face. “Shut up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s sweet,” Daphné said adamantly. “And I was secretly hoping he was right too, Lucas would have been a great addition to our little family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was it that made you say Aphrodite, Eliott? Was he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> irresistible it had to be magic?” Imane teased, but her words were coated in warmth. Like she couldn’t help but tease him, but wanted him to know that she bore him no true ill will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Eliott repeated, sinking further into himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas pulled the hood away from his face and ran a hand through his hair, letting it rest on the nape of his neck. “I’ve never had someone look at me that way before, or think the best of me in such a manner. I’m glad that it was you who did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though he spoke quietly, only for Eliott to hear, everyone else heard anyway, and they started catcalling again, making kissy faces or pretending to vomit. But amidst it all, Eliott’s smile returned, and with it, the brightness of the stars, so Lucas didn’t care much about what anyone else had to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon thereafter, conversations lulled and yawns spread wide around the room, and Lucas realized that he’d never felt so much love all at once. No one addressed the elephant in the room, and no one acted as though consequences would arise in the morning, they acted as though they’d been planning this sleepover forever, but had just been waiting for Lucas to get there to share it with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the last words were spoken and the only light coming into the room was from the moon high in the sky outside, Lucas felt himself drifting away into slumber, only to be paused in this pursuit by a hand on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can share my blanket if you want.” Lucas barely heard his voice, soft as a cloud, careless as a dream. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t argue that he was warm enough, or that he had three blankets of his own, he simply nodded and said, just as quietly, “I’d like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s body wrapped itself around his, and despite his heartbeat quickening at first touch, it steadied into a comfortable rhythm almost immediately, like this was where he belonged. The last thing he felt was a soft kiss pressed to his hairline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the best sleep Lucas had in practically his entire life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When morning came, with it came Chiron, imploring him to visit the big house, so they could talk one on one about what came next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott stood beside him at the door, holding his hand idly. It wasn’t necessarily romantic, it was more of a comforting gesture, but why couldn’t they be one in the same, just for the time being? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever he says, I’m not letting anything happen to you, ok? None of us are,” Eliott said, staring deeply into his soul. He reached for Lucas’ other hand holding both of them now with such gentleness that Lucas felt entirely reborn, lost in the sensation of being loved, being cared for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas laughed breathlessly. “I’m afraid it might not be up to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I choose to believe that we’re the directors of our own movies, in charge of our own destinies,” Eliott said with a smile, the nostalgic sort, that was both sad and endlessly hopeful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never fancied myself much of an artist,” Lucas admitted. It was true, he watched movies without noticing the cinematography, looked at paintings without wondering what the deeper meaning was or taking in the techniques of the brushstrokes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott shook his head. “Ah, but you don’t have to be. Does one have to be an astronomer to admire the stars? A novelist to enjoy a good story?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok then, Mr. Director, where do you see this one going? What’s the next scene in the story of Lucas Lallemant?” Lucas asked, aware that people were watching the two of them stand there on the porch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiron opened up the door, and Eliott dropped Lucas’ hands stepping down the stairs without dropping Lucas’ gaze. “That’s up to you,” he said, and then was gone, leaving Lucas to face the music. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The big house looked different on the inside than Lucas expected. It looked like it had been decorated to accommodate many different eras, and Lucas had no doubt Chiron had been alive for them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Lucas said, to break the tense silence that surrounded the two of them. “You might not believe me, but I didn’t know, not until I came here. I had no idea who the olympians even were a few months ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiron shook his head sadly. “I’m not upset with you Mr. Lallemant. You’re hardly the first child of Hades I’ve met, and I know you certainly won’t be the last. You never asked to be pulled into something like this, so how could I blame you for it? No, the reason I am upset is that the powers to blame are the same ones who will never take it. They will find a way to make it all my fault, or yours, and though I respect the gods very much, I do see how wrong it all is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then, if you don’t mind me asking,” Lucas began hesitantly, “What do you want with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want you to go on a quest,” Chiron said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas raised his eyebrows, certain he was mishearing. “A quest?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid you’re the only one who can,” Chiron continued gravely, “Particularly because the details of this quest must not be reported to the gods.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was it too much for Lucas to wish for, to have a normal life? At least as normal as demigod life got. Although, he supposed a quest was better than dying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be granted two companions, but that’s all the help I can afford to lend you, I’m afraid. I need you to find your father and restore him to his place as one of the most powerful of the gods. You’re the only one who may have a chance,” Chiron explained. Lucas felt cold all over, all of a sudden. He didn’t know much about this pit his father was imprisoned in, but it didn’t seem like a super fun place to go on a quest to. He didn’t want to endanger anyone else either, even if he knew he couldn’t manage it alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you going to keep all of this from the gods?” Lucas asked, instead of voicing one of his million other concerns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiron’s tail flicked nervously, which was all the answer Lucas really needed. “I’m not entirely sure I can,” Chiron admitted, “But I will do my best, for your sake as well as everyone else at this camp. Zeus hasn’t exactly been the greatest ruler for quite a while, and he’s far beyond reasoning with. But don’t worry about us, Lucas, we’ll be fine. Worry about yourself, or don’t worry at all.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make me feel much better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It appeared Chiron was barely listening to him anyway, too far lost in thoughts of his own. “Our own oracle isn’t present at the moment, I’m afraid, so we may not have time to get you a prophecy before you set off…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas didn’t even know what that meant. In all honesty, he didn’t care. He’d rather figure out how he was supposed to find his father in a hell pit and restore him to power than worry about a prophecy or whatever it was that Chiron was mumbling to himself about. And as much as he didn’t want anyone getting hurt… he didn’t want to do it alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When do I leave?” Lucas asked, because ultimately that was all he needed to know. It didn’t matter if he wanted to go or not, somehow a journey to a death pit might just be safer than staying planted where he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chiron levelled his eyes with Lucas’, like he was trying to read him, but wasn’t seeing what he wanted to see. “As soon as possible. I’ll round up some satyrs to give you some supplies, and you need to decide who will come with you, and then I’ll meet you at the top of the hill in an hour, yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What could Lucas do? Say no?” “Yes,” he agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott was waiting outside when he came out, leaning on the porch railing. “A quest?” he asked, without preamble. Lucas nodded, and Eliott fell into step with him. “I’m coming with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas stopped abruptly. “No, you’re not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott I have to go to Tartarus,” Lucas said. He barely knew what that meant, sure, but from the way Eliott paled, he knew that Eliott knew exactly what it meant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott only paused a second before responding, “Ok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached for Lucas’ hand, but Lucas yanked it out of the way, pleading with his eyes. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m going to die either way, so this is my only option. You have your whole life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But see, Lucas really didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to, but saying it out loud, he knew that he’d spoken the truth. This time, when Eliott reached for his hand, he didn’t pull away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to die. You know why? Because you’re not doing this alone, and all of us here, we protect each other, just like I told you before. You’re one of us now, and we’re going to protect you too,” Eliott said. His hands were warm, and his touch felt like sunshine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you say that with such certainty after I’ve just told you where I have to go?” Lucas pleaded, hearing the strain in his own voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because people have gone there before, and made it out. Not many admittedly, but I think that as long as you have people who care, you’ll make it through just fine.” He leaned and pressed his forehead against Lucas’. “And I care. I know I’m not the only one, but I care in ways that make me feel like my heart is on fire sometimes. Because I’ve known you for three months, but somehow that feels like an entire lifetime, and I know well enough to see that I could fall in love with you, if you let me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aside from Eliott’s words, all Lucas could hear was the pounding of his own blood in his ears. The most beautiful, kindest, funniest, loveliest boy he’d ever met in his life was standing there, holding his hands, and telling him that he could fall in love with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I could fall in love with you too,” Lucas said, putting every ounce of sincerity into his voice, “No— I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> that I could. And I want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott brushed their lips together, so gently it might have been a dream, before he said, “Then let us help you, because I want to love you for a long, long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas was a bit dazed, and had to run through Eliott’s words in his head a few times to really let them sink in. Wait. “Us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott flushed a bright red, sheepish smile on his face. “Well you see, about that… everyone pretty much knew you’d be given a quest, see, and technically the rule is three per quest, but that rule has been broken countless times, and, well, no one really wants to stay silent to injustice when they see it and—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott,” Lucas interrupted, “What are you trying to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott sighed. “It started with Manon and me. We told each other that we’d be your quest companions, because she hoped her presence would deter her father from killing us, and we all knew there was no way you were going without me. But then Yann said that he should go too, because he’s a blacksmith, which is a useful skill to have, and he’s pretty much your best friend here, so we accepted him coming along as well. Then Arthur came along, with Basile, and he said that you guys were still brothers, in every way that mattered, and brothers helped each other, and Basile’s a son of Ares, who likes saying fuck you to the other gods about as much as we do, if given the right circumstances, so of course we couldn’t say no to them either…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliott, I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“… Daphné wouldn’t let Manon go without her, though, because, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and she’s very persistent, and Lola would obviously have to come too because a, her charmspeak will be useful as hell, and b, she hates it when Daphné’s in danger. Sofiane’s my brother, so he said if Arthur gets to come, he gets to come, and Imane said that she and Idriss would also be coming because it would be stupid to go anywhere without two children of the goddess of victory, and nearly everyone agreed about that. Emma joined, because she said that just because we were going on a quest to possible and likely death, didn’t mean we shouldn’t have fun, and Alexia agreed, promising to help cut off communications to the gods when needed to obscure our location, so she’s coming too. Oh, and Maya goes where Lola goes because, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jo helped us out at the start, so it seemed unfair not to invite her, and Max’s mom is Nemesis, which could definitely come in handy should we come across some enemies, so they’re both coming too. And Sékou, partly because wherever Max and Jo go, he goes, and partly because he and Imane are the only two in this group with any brain cells, and partly because he’s studied the deepest darkest places in the godly world and in ours more than anyone probably in history, including Tartarus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas merely blinked up at Eliott as he finished. “So… you’re saying that this quest, for three people, has turned into a seventeen person party?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott squinted, biting his lip. “Um, yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas shook his head, trying to stop the laughter that had bubbled up in his chest. “I don’t think Chiron is going to go for that,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All due respect to Chiron, but I think the seventeen of us could take him down, if it came to that,” Emma’s voice rang out, somewhere behind Lucas. He turned around and was met with the sight of every person Eliott had mentioned, with bags packed and weapons strapped at their sides. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas was moved, he truly was to see them all standing there, but it could never work. Could it? “But the rules—” he began, before being cut off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck the rules,” Arthur supplied, entirely unhelpfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I don’t want any of you to get hurt because of me—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You may be powerful, Lucas, but you’ve been training for about three months. We’ve all been training for years. Some of us practically our whole lives. You’re more likely to get hurt </span>
  <em>
    <span>without</span>
  </em>
  <span> us than we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>with</span>
  </em>
  <span> you,” Yann said, pragmatic as always. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas only had one more bit of ammo to deter them. “But what about our ‘scent’, or whatever, to monsters? I’m pretty sure seventeen powerful demigods won’t be able to make it three feet without getting attacked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did think about that,” Sékou said, “But we might have found a way to counteract that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll take effort on a lot of our parts, but we think it might work,” Alexia added. “Besides, Jo has been practicing this for a while on her own.” She nodded to Jo, who picked up the last bit of explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can manipulate the Mist with no issue, and so can a lot of other demigods, not just children of Hecate, and one time Sékou and I got to thinking, what if we could manipulate more than just the visual aspect of the Mist? I practiced a lot, and it was quite hard, but I figured out how to manipulate my ‘godly’ scent to be untraceable to monsters, and once I did that, I started teaching others how to as well. Of the seventeen of us, ten know how to, and six have been learning. I would have taught you too, but we didn’t really have a chance to start. Regardless, it should be enough,” Jo explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas looked up to the sky, wondering if he was making the worst decision of his life. “Ok,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok?” Manon asked, raising her eyebrows hopefully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucas grinned, relenting. “Ok, you can all come. As long as Chiron approves it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One step ahead of you, sir,” Basile said, nodding to Lola and Daphné, across the green, speaking to the centaur. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” Imane added in a hushed tone, as they watched, “Lola will only use charmspeak if necessary. Daphné’s quite convincing on her own, we’ve discovered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed Imane was right, because less than two minutes later, after quite a few exasperated glances in the direction of Lucas and his group, Daphné squealed in excitement, giving them a thumbs up over her shoulder. Nearly everyone broke into a loud cheer, running over to Daphné, Lola, and Chiron, chatting and hugging Chiron excitedly. Lucas stayed where he was, alone, watching these people that had somehow become some of the greatest friends he’d ever known, and realized that maybe this was exactly how it was meant to go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no— he wasn’t alone. A certain head of untameable hair was missing from the group, and when Lucas felt a hand slip into his, he knew exactly who was still standing by his side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott looked at Lucas sidelong, squeezing his hand. “Are you afraid?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a fair question, Lucas had been afraid practically as long as he’d known Eliott, for various reasons. And he should be afraid now, with what he had to do, and what obstacles they might encounter on the way. But there was Eliott, by his side, holding his hand. Eliott, who could fall in love with him, who he could fall in love with, who’d only kissed him a handful of times, but each one felt like home, and he realized, he wasn’t afraid, not one bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he answered, looking up at Eliott and letting the rest of the world fade away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott’s grin was a ghost, flitting across his face for one instant, gone in the next. He tugged Lucas towards him, leaned in, their noses brushing clumsily, but ever gracefully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know why?” Lucas asked, breaths mingling with the words, lips brushing as he spoke. Eliott shook his head minutely, hands coming up to rest on Lucas’ cheeks. Lucas grinned, pulling back just enough to see the pale blue of Eliott’s eyes, so bright and beautiful. “Because I’m with you,” he finished, closing the nanoscopic space between their lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was funny how people tended to say they sank into a kiss, because Lucas felt the opposite. He felt like he was flying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard cheers and hoots from his friends in the distance, and he raised one hand to flip them off without breaking apart from Eliott for even a moment. He could feel Eliott’s mouth smiling against his, and their kiss was full of teeth, but if it was the last peaceful moment in Lucas’ life for a long time, he may as well lean into it for as long as humanly possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just for the record,” Eliott said as he pulled back, keeping his hands on Lucas’ face, “I’m not afraid either. Because I’m with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the camp disappeared from view behind their group, bags packed to the brim and countless weapons concealed or hanging at their sides, Lucas took a moment to admire the sunset. Everyone was joking around and talking amongst themselves, Yann, Arthur, and Basile were even singing some camp song they’d sung around the fire for years, trying to get everyone to join in, and there were lightning bugs glowing around them in a random array. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever they were heading towards, they were ready, not because they were the biggest or the strongest, or even the most powerful, but because they had each other, and wasn’t that power bigger than moving mountains or splitting the earth anyway? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliott picked a bright yellow dandelion from the grass, jogging over to Lucas and tucking it behind his ear. As Lucas laughed, kissing Eliott’s cheek gently as the breeze that carried them forward, he thought it had to be. This feeling, this togetherness, this— love… it was the most powerful thing in the world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The camp was far behind them now, the sun even further behind it, but for once, Lucas didn’t look back.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>kudos/comments are always appreciated 🥺 </p><p>feel free to come n talk with me on tumblr too! @kieunora</p><p>love u all n hope all is as well as can be 💖</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks so much for reading !! </p><p>talk to me on tumblr: @kieunora</p></blockquote></div></div>
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